Top 10 Ways to Reduce Your Health Insurance Premium
With the number of lifestyle ailments and health issues increasing among the Indian masses and the price of medical facilities soaring high; purchasing health insurance has become a necessity today. When you have a health insurance policy, you are relieved from any financial stress which might have occurred due to medical bills and expenses.
By a health insurance policy, your health insurance provider guarantees you a reimbursement of all medical expenses incurred. But you can claim these reimbursements and avail the benefits only when you are paying the health insurance premium diligently. By doing so, you are keeping your insurance policy active and can avail the benefits whenever necessary.
Benefits of Health Insurance Policy
We can list down some of the significant benefits of a health insurance policy below.
1. With a health insurance policy, you can obtain coverage against your medical expenses and bills in case of health issues and ailments. Health insurance policies provide coverage for pre-hospitalization, hospitalization, and post-hospitalization. This can quite helpful at times of medical emergency.
2. A health insurance policy helps you in procuring cashless treatment in case of approaching a network hospital of your health insurer. Cashless treatment is a saviour during medical emergencies.
3. Health insurance policies are helpful in cases of treatment of critical illnesses like kidney transplants, cardiac disorders, heart stroke, etc. You can obtain a lump sum amount on the diagnosis of these ailments, which can be helpful in the treatment purposes.
4. Additional expenses like OPD expenses, domiciliary expenses, Ambulance expenses, Alternate treatment charges, etc. are also covered under health insurance policies.
5. Health Insurance policies are a tax saving tool and can be used to claim Income Tax deductions under section 80D.
All these benefits and advantages of a health insurance policy can be availed only when you are paying your health insurance premium.
You may also like to read about Health insurance for the long haul and its benefits
Health Insurance Premium
The Health insurance premium is the amount paid by a policyholder to the health insurance provider to avail medical coverage and the benefits associated with a health insurance policy. In simple terms, the premium is an amount paid by a policyholder to keep his health insurance policy active.
Along with the premium, there are some other fares that are paid by a policyholder such as deductibles, co-payments, co-insurance, etc. These fares, when added up with your premium, can sometimes make a rise in your health insurance premium.
When your responsibilities increase, you might feel that your payment made towards health insurance premium is a major cause affecting your budget. But, the de-activation of a health insurance policy is not a feasible option in today’s world. So, you should research and find out the means by which you can lower your health insurance premium but still get adequate medical coverage.
Ways to reduce your health insurance premium and still obtain good coverage
Let us have a look at some of the methods by which you can lower your health insurance premium to be paid but still make no compromise on the coverage obtained or rather increase your coverage received.
1. Purchase of a health insurance policy at an early age
Age is one of the major factors determining the premium of your health insurance policy. With an increase in age, there is an increase in the possibility of getting affected by more ailments and health issues. As a result, your health insurance provider will increase your insurance premium. So, it is advisable to get a health insurance policy at a younger age.
Some of the top health insurance plans which can be purchased at a younger age are Religare NCB Super Premium, HDFC Ergo Health Suraksha Gold Regain, Max Bupa Health Companion Individual, Manipal Cigna Prohealth Plus, etc. These provide good coverage at a reasonable premium.
2. Opt for a family floater plan
It is always wise to buy a family floater health insurance plan rather than opting for an individual health insurance policy. By a family floater plan, you will be including your spouse and your dependent children in the plan, and this will fetch you a discount of around 10%-20% on the health insurance premium.
3. Make most of your No-Claim Bonus
You can go on and accumulate a bonus by not making any claim in the previous years. If there are zero claims made by a policyholder during the previous year, then a bonus in the form of a discount in the premium or an increase in your medical coverage can be availed by the policyholder.
Expert Tip: Avoid small claims to save your No Claim Bonus.
Also read 7 best health insurance with no-claim bonus aka cumulative bonus
4. Purchase a Top-up Policy
A top-up policy is a policy applicable for those individuals who already have a health insurance policy and need to add the extra benefits.
Suppose, an individual is having a Mediclaim policy from his employer and need to enhance the coverage for medical expenses that are above the limits of the existing policy.
Expert Tip: Purchase of a top-up policy is always beneficial for the policyholder as it would be cheaper than buying a new or a fresh health insurance policy. It would be at least less expensive by 20%-30% than purchasing a new health insurance plan. However, a top-up policy will provide coverage for the medical expenses that arise out of a single illness.
5. Purchase of a Super Top-up Policy
A super top-up policy is a better option than a top-up policy as it will also cover those medical expenses that are exceeding the limit of your already existing health insurance policy, but it will not be limited to a single illness like top-up policy. Super top-up policy will provide coverage for medical expenses arising out of any number of diseases.
Expert Tip: Although this is more expensive than a top-up plan, it makes more sense to opt for the same to lower your overall health insurance premium burden! A super top-up plan will get triggered only after your base plan is exhausted!
Also read Things to know why you should top-up health insurance
6. Choose the right sum assured
The selection for the right sum assured is quite essential for a policyholder. If you select a higher amount of sum assured than what you actually need, the consequence is the extra payment of premium. In case of lower sum assured, you do not get adequate coverage and have to bear certain medical expenses on your own. Hence, the correct sum assured should be chosen depending on your age and the condition of your health.
7. Select Voluntary Co-payment
Co-payment is defined as that portion of the medical claim, which is to be paid by the policyholder. Co-payments are of two different types i.e. Compulsory Co-payment and Voluntary Co-payment. Compulsory co-payment makes it mandatory for the policyholder to pay the pre-defined portion of the claim. But in Voluntary Co-payment, the policyholder can decide on the amount which he tends to pay during the claim settlement procedure.
Expert Tip: If you are opting for a higher amount of co-payment, then your insurance provider will definitely provide you with a discount on the premium. You can use this option when you are young and healthy as your medical expenditure will be less, and you can opt for a higher amount to co-pay.
8. Online purchase of health insurance policies
When purchasing your health insurance policies online, you tend to get a discount of around 10%-20% on the insurance premium. The online method of purchase does not involve any commission or service charges to be paid to the agents, and as a result, health insurers provide a portion of this profit as a discount to their customers.
You must also read 5 tips to buy health insurance online
9. Opt for a health insurance policy with a longer tenure
You can select to purchase a health insurance policy with a longer tenure such as 2 years-3 years. The health insurance providers provide a premium discount of around 10%-15% for those customers who tend to prefer health insurance plans with longer tenure. However, this might depend on your health insurer and the insurance plan selected in many cases.
10. Maintain a healthy lifestyle
You can maintain a healthy lifestyle and reduce your chances of falling ill. You can exercise regularly and have a healthy diet to reduce the chances of illness due to obesity or cholesterol. You can quit smoking and drinking as this not only reduces your premium rates but also ensures your well-being.
Hence, considering today’s environmental conditions and inflating prices of medical facilities; the coverage and benefits of a health insurance policy should not be compromised. However, you can do your research on the premium rates of different insurance providers, compare policies online and then purchase the ones which provide adequate cover at a reasonable premium.
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